Second Moiety

Chris shifted his eyes from Liam back to the IPM, his vision widening as frustration mapped itself clearly onto his face.

“How has the speed not gone down?” Rhys asked, his voice completely puzzled. “It is still at maximum velocity. What happened to air resistance over long distances?”

“You see, I made a mistake by taking it easy on you amateurs in the beginning,” Liam said, his tonality as bloated with arrogance as ever.

“The error you fools made was thinking you had won this,” Ivy added, her inflection as sadistic as ever. She leaned slightly on her heels. “Freya is the best among us in the Speed Concur, and we sent her up against you. The moment she entered that ranging alcove, I was certain you guys would lose.”

“I was actually surprised Cia managed to win the first moiety,” Braylen spoke. His tonality carried no disrespect, only a stark, heavy truth. “I guess it’s our fault for taking it easy on you guys.”

“Who gives a bloody fuck whether you took it easy on us?” Elisa interjected, her voice’s modulation carrying traces of sharp annoyance. “The fact remains that we are currently in the lead, so don't hype your hopes up.”

“Alright, stay ignorant,” Liam sneered, moving his eyes back to the monoliths. “With this win, we will tie the score anyway.”

Seventy-five kilometers.

Eighty kilometers.

Eighty-five kilometers.

Ninety kilometers.

Rhys placed both hands flat against his forehead. “This is absurd. Freaking abnormal,” he muttered, the distress in his voice practically bleeding into the air.

“How is she even maintaining that kind of speed?” Elisa asked, her voice showing escalating streams of worry.

Chris simply stared at the monolith. Pulling the visual data of the arrow into his mind, he began to dissect it step by step. What the hell? How is she able to maintain such thrust? This is abnormal... she is practically defying air resistance.

He glared at the monolith, focusing solely on the glowing trajectory. What exactly is the difference between this arrow and the last? Once again, he buried himself deep within his own thoughts.

An image of the previous arrow Freya used—its structural composition and the aura it exuded—flashed in his mind alongside the current projectile.

If I am going by the principle of physical difference, then only the fletching is different, Chris reasoned. But if I am going by the principle of aura variance, the main point would be those serpent-like auras stemming from that circular pod.

His eyes widened as the realization snapped into place. That's it! It's that circular pod. The circular pod has those serpent-like auras stemming out from it. Thrust is the application of great force—but usually, air resistance is supposed to prevent a constant application of thrust.

Inside the left platform, Freya looked at her drifting arrow with pure contentment. She raised her left palm, positioning it slightly below her chin, and slowly compressed it into a tight fist. Once fully closed, she snapped out her thumb and index finger with blinding velocity—and then—

SOOOOOM!

A massive, secondary burst of aura exploded violently at the nock of the arrow, propelling it forward at the exact same speed but with a bewildering, sudden surge of sustained power.

Ninety-five kilometers.

One hundred kilometers.

The moment the arrow crossed the hundred-kilometer mark, it finally stopped. All the meticulously built-up thrust gave way, allowing the arrow to glide smoothly through the air until it settled perfectly at the limit.

Beep.
Beep.

The IPMs beeped sharply, indicating the absolute completion of the arrow's flight path. The data recorded gracefully along the crystal-black, well-polished screens:

· {LEFT RANGING ALCOVE}

· {FARTHEST DISTANCE: 100 KILOMETERS}

Chris, Rhys, and Elisa stared at the IPM in utter disbelief, completely stunned by the impossible distance the arrow had covered.

Then, a light chuckle sounded—a deeply sardonic, mocking chuckle.

“Well, Chris, do you still think you can win?” Liam asked, trepidation and a dark confidence brewing in his tone.

Chris gritted his teeth, a small, hard lump appearing across the left side of his jawline. Shit, how is that even possible? he thought to himself, thoroughly annoyed.

“My bloody damn God,” Rhys breathed, his voice coming out much lighter than usual, his irritation entirely tangible.

“How do you even do that?” Elisa pitched in, her tone perfectly complementing the shared distress.

Farther back in her own space, Cia watched the monitor. What in the Zodiac’s name is that? How did she reach that far? she asked herself, her frustration finally spilling through her rigid composure.

“Well, you're not as confident as earlier, it seems,” Ivy mocked, stroking her braided ponytail as she lurched her upper body forward.

“The error you all made was thinking you could defeat us,” Braylen added, his voice carrying an unwavering modulation of confidence.

Chris ignored them, walking directly toward Liam until he stood only a few inches away, ensuring they were dead face-to-face.

“Do you know why this is funny, Liam?” Chris said, staring straight into his eyes with irritation brimming at the surface.

“Would you kindly tell me why?” Liam asked. He elevated his right eyebrow higher than his left, his sarcastic tone growing even more condensed.

“You were as confident as shit earlier on, too,” Chris said, his voice dropping low as he diminished Liam in his thoughts. “You kept on niggling, spitting shit, and then you lost. Remember that.”

Liam stretched out his palm toward Chris’s face. He slowly squinted his eyes, lazily oscillating his index finger from left to right along the axis of Chris’s vision.

“You are right about something—you won the first part. But you are also wrong about me spitting shit,” Liam said, his tone turning unusually calm, almost deadly. His eyes drifted away from Chris, looking back at the 100-kilometer mark on the IPM. He smirked. “I can assure you, Chris, you are not winning this overall match. So fuck back to where you came from and watch Cia lose.”

Chris was pissed—so furious that his teeth gritted against one another violently as he marched back to Elisa and Rhys. He took his position directly between them.

“Chris, don't mind that asshole,” Rhys said, his own irritation skimming right off his face.

“Rhys, Chris... let's just leave it up to Cia. Whatever happens next...” Elisa said. She let out a long exhale, closing her eyes for a split moment before snapping them open.

“I know. We're going to leave it up to Cia,” Chris said, casting a brief glance at Rhys before both of their gazes drifted entirely to Cia’s ranging alcove.

A brief moment of tense silence dawned over the entire arena. Then, the IPMs beeped loudly, officially indicating that it was time for the next archer's turn.

“She got a hundred kilometers, right? No big deal. All I need to do is beat that,” Cia murmured, reassuring herself as her alcove elevated slightly higher while Freya’s platform depressed.

“Well, let's see how she performs,” Ivy said, swerving her head swiftly as her eyes drizzled with pure disdain.

Elisa clasped her hands tightly, trying her absolute best to prevent anxiety from completely consuming her.

Cia, I hope you win this, Chris thought, his eyes locked on her ranging alcove.

Cia inhaled deeply, then exhaled, repeating the cycle three times to settle her nerves. Chris stared at her, his expression brimming with anxiety. He wanted nothing more than to prove Liam wrong.

Stepping back slightly, Cia pivoted her right foot. As she receded her left, she aligned her posture perfectly with the fulcrum point of her compound bow. She tilted her head to the left, her renal projectors adjusting and calibrating the precise pathway her mind was envisioning.

Cia raised her compound bow to eye level, looking directly through the renal projector and the cylindrical pore integrated into the weapon. Her aura diffused outward slowly. Its radiant effulgence crafted her bowstring, evoking the vivid image of a fairy beautifully playing a harp as her magical essence dripped into the world. The sight was truly a beauty to behold.

Cia’s arms stretched out, the compound bow aligning flawlessly with her stance. She pulled the bowstring as every drop of her aura diffused into the line. Her bowstring was unadorned but exceptionally thick, consisting of three variant layers so tightly overlapped that they appeared as a single cord.

She pulled the bowstring with immense precision and grace. Her renal projectors extended outward before compressing into one another, settling into a single, sharp lens as her desired trajectory cleared in her mind.

Cia tugged the bowstring with a grace that was accompanied by absurd physical strength. Her arrow manifested instantly, ribbons of glacier-blue aura streaming from the tip of the pentagon, dewmer-shaped arrowhead. The arrowhead was lethal, the ribbon-like aura streams added an elegant beauty, and the entire frame of the projectile exuded the rigid structure of an iceberg.

As Cia reached her anchor point, her bowstring exuded thick streams of glacier-blue aura, evoking the image of steam puffing out over an overheated hot spring. Cia’s fingers tapped the bowstring, prompting electromagnetic strands to manifest at every edge of the arrow.

She released the arrow, and the electromagnetic strands instantly jolted it at high velocity through the flagpole embrasure.

ZOOM!

It was fast—incredibly fast. The projectile moved gracefully through the simulation as the IPM indicated its telemetry:
{RIGHT RANGING ALCOVE ARROW SPEED: 25,000 M/S}

The arrow careened forward, flying through the arena with elegance, grace, and a distinct touch of beauty.

One kilometer.

Two kilometers.

Three kilometers.

“Disappointing. She could not even reach the maximum speed threshold,” Braylen noted, his eyes fixed on his monolith as he directed his voice at Liam.

“What did you expect, Braylen? She was never going to stand a chance,” Ivy chimed in, her inflection as diminishing as ever.

Liam only smirked, letting out a disgusting, quiet chuckle.

“She couldn't hit max velocity. How disappointing. I really expected more from her,” Braylen repeated, disillusionment filling his tone.

“Oh my God,” Ivy scoffed loudly. “Ugh!” She puffed air sharply through her nose, a blatant gesture to highlight how sarcastic she was being. “I honestly can’t believe you actually thought she could reach it,” Ivy said, glaring at Braylen with eyes that clearly showed how ticked off she was.

“Ivy, don't mind Braylen. I think he is getting soft, having pity on the enemy,” Liam chuckled disgustingly.

“Nah, he is not getting soft. He’s just scared,” Ivy replied, clearly intending to draw Liam's full attention to the matter.

“THE FUCK?” Braylen barked directly into Ivy’s face. “The bloody fuck, Ivy! Are you crazy?” Braylen was beyond angry—he was completely pissed.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Braylen! You are terrified of the Frost Bitch after the way she fucking manhandled you. Stop being such a CUNT and drop the fucking matter,” Ivy articulated sharply. She faced Braylen for a moment, but midway through her words, she swung her head back, grabbing her ponytail and stroking it sarcastically.

Braylen snapped. The veins around the side of his forehead bulged, becoming visibly taut. He ground his teeth violently against one another and clenched his palms into rigid fists. A hard, compressed lump appeared at the side of his right jawline, depicting exactly how annoyed he was. He marched closer to Ivy, his clear intention to pound her face in.

As Braylen closed the distance, he raised his heavy fist, aiming directly for her face.

“Ugh, Braylen, what the hell are you doing?” Ivy stammered, stepping back a few inches.

Braylen didn't answer her. He strode away from Liam’s side, advancing steadily toward Ivy as she retreated little by little.

“Okay, Braylen, I’m sorry for the shit I said. You know I didn't mean it,” Ivy said, her voice clearly trying to placate his sudden rage.

Once again, Braylen offered no reply. He stepped even closer, closing the remaining distance between them as he raised his fist higher, poised to plant it directly onto her face. Ivy’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Fear, shock, and agitation completely overwhelmed her.

As Braylen’s fist flew forward, the sheer pressure surrounding his knuckles could be felt all the way over by Chris, Elisa, and Rhys—and that pressure was intense. Braylen had absolutely no intention of sparing her. Ivy froze in place, paralyzed by shock.

Suddenly, Liam stepped in.

The fist that was about to obliterate Ivy’s face landed heavily in Liam's right palm, caught perfectly between his extended thumb and index finger. Braylen and Liam’s palms hovered in midair, a massive, localized gust of compressed wind exploding downward from the impact.

“Nah, Braylen. You can't go around hitting Ivy, now can you?” Liam said smoothly, effortlessly overpowering Braylen’s pumped fist with just two fingers.

“URRGH,” Braylen chirped like an angry hawk. He violently pulled his fist out of Liam’s clutch, glaring at Ivy viciously before walking back to his original spot in front of his monolith.

“Okay, Ivy. Next time, do yourself a massive favor and shut the bloody fuck up,” Liam said. His smile looked almost genuine, but a massive amount of cold sarcasm dripped from the edges of his lips.

Liam casually adjusted the ruffled patches of her hair, escorting her back into their starting positions—Braylen to his right, and Ivy to his left. Braylen paid absolutely no attention to Ivy, and Ivy kept her face firmly plastered to the monolith before her, shaken.

No way. Liam stopped that punch with just two fingers, agitation tightened Chris’s thoughts.

“How strong is this Liam guy?” Rhys asked aloud, clearly bothered by the display.

“With the way he stopped such an intense punch from Braylen... a punch so intense its shockwave drifted all the way to our axis... Liam easily caught it with two fingers. To put it simply, that guy is bad news,” Elisa stated, her words matching Rhys’s anxious flow.

How strong are you really… LIAM? Chris averred in his mind, remaining completely silent to the dialogue occurring at his side.

Four kilometers.

Six kilometers.

Eight kilometers.

Ten kilometers.

The monoliths continued to track Cia's arrow as it sailed deeper into the arena.

The arrow moved swiftly but gracefully. The ribbon-like structure emanating from the tip of the arrowhead allowed it to fly at a piercing velocity, following its trajectory perfectly like a bird gliding through the sky. It showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The IPMs indicated zero drop in speed, offering no indication that the projectile was anywhere near reaching its peak.

Liam stared intently at the arrow, his eyes eagerly expectant of Cia’s failure.

Chris watched the projectile blitz across the arena, the ocular nodes capturing every structural detail smoothly and perfectly. Freya’s arrow had been fast, but Cia’s arrow was pure, unadulterated grace.

Twelve kilometers.

Fourteen kilometers.

Sixteen kilometers.

Eighteen kilometers.

The arrow soared through the gallery, clearing kilometers easily as its velocity remained completely unwavering. Inside her platform, Cia watched its progress intently, expecting not a single error. Her eyes were fixed directly on the projectile through the single lens of her renal projectors.

Twenty kilometers.

Twenty-four kilometers.

Twenty-eight kilometers.

“Wow, I am actually impressed. She is managing to keep the arrow sustained at twenty-five thousand meters per second,” Liam remarked, though his words were clearly devoid of any genuine encouragement or praise. We will see exactly how long you can keep that up, Cia, his inner voice added, brimming with nothing but cold scorn and contempt.

Thirty kilometers.

Thirty-five kilometers.

Forty kilometers.

Forty-five kilometers.

Although Cia’s arrow showed no signs of increasing its speed, it maintained a beautifully proper pace. Kilometers flew by as the projectile propelled itself forward into the horizonless void. Freya watched the visual feed from her own alcove, stealing a quick glance toward Cia before breathing out a short, sarcastic gasp.

“Stunning. Everything about this arrow is simply stunning,” Rhys said, his smile bustling as he looked over in Chris’s direction.

“She could actually win this,” Elisa added, her expression bristling with hope.

Chris smiled back at Rhys and chuckled warmly in Elisa’s direction. But as his eyes locked onto Elisa’s smiling figure, a sudden thought caught him off guard. Was she always this beautiful?

Snap out of it, Chris! he scolded himself childishly. He clasped both palms tightly against his cheeks to forcibly evict the distraction from his mind, instantly peering back in the direction of the monolith.

Fifty kilometers.

Fifty-five kilometers.

Sixty kilometers.

Sixty-five kilometers.

Annoyance began to seep heavily from the edges of Liam’s lips. “How the fuck is that arrow still going?” he muttered, his irritation entirely tangible. “It isn't even traveling at maximum speed.”

Cia continued to scrutinize the arrow as it glided flawlessly through the simulated airspace.

Seventy kilometers.

Seventy-one kilometers.

Seventy-two kilometers.

The IPMs finally began to indicate a steady drop in the arrow's current velocity. Air resistance had finally caught up to the iceberg-like frame.

· 25,000 m/s

· 24,000 m/s

· 20,000 m/s

“Hmm. That’s more like it,” Liam said, his tone happily disgusting.

Both Ivy and Braylen remained completely silent at Liam’s side. The hostile tension that had stirred between them earlier had not yet settled down; Liam noticed the quiet friction, but simply chose to pay it no attention.

“Oh no, no, no, no... this can’t be happening,” Rhys stammered, concern instantly filling his tone.

“There must be a perfectly good reason for this, right? Cia should have a plan... right?” Elisa asked, once again clasping her hands together as anxiety began to overthrow her composure.

“As I said, let's leave it up to Cia. She knows exactly what she is doing,” Chris stated aloud, though his eyes genuinely betrayed how much he hoped his own words were true. Cia, please hope you know what you're doing, his inner voice whispered, showing its own trails of deep anxiety.

Inside the alcove, Cia remained entirely unbothered. I knew this would happen. Air resistance finally caught up. It’s a bit earlier than I wanted, but let’s finish this. Her thoughts held unwavering confidence.

Cia elevated her right palm toward her ear. She clasped her thumb and middle finger together for a brief moment, before sharply clashing them against one another.

SNAP!

With the echo of her fingers snapping inside the metallic alcove, her arrow responded in a heartbeat.

The glacier-aura ribbons coiling at the tip of the arrowhead constricted violently. The energy bands elongated at high speed, stretching backward toward the end of the shaft. They bonded completely with the arrow's body, and instantly—

ZOOM!!!

The arrow jolted forward, leaving a massive sonic boom vibrating in its tracks. The IPM telemetry indicated a staggering surge back up to 28,500 m/s as the projectile soared fiercely across the gallery.

Seventy-three kilometers.

Seventy-four kilometers.

Seventy-five kilometers.

The distance markers began flying by at a steady, aggressive pace. It may not have reached the absolute maximum speed threshold, but at the rate it’s going, it should be more than enough to beat Freya’s record, Cia’s inner voice brimmed with certainty, her lips giving off a slight, confident chuckle.

“Yes!” Chris’s voice trailed out slightly. What he had fully intended to keep as a silent thought had accidentally escaped as a spoken word.

“Alright!” Rhys echoed, his eyes locked onto the monitor.

Liam paid absolutely no attention to their excitement. He only watched the IPM metrics and snickered, his baseline confidence remaining abnormally exuberant.

Seventy-eight kilometers.

Seventy-nine kilometers.

Eighty kilometers.

The new velocity the arrow attained propelled it forward abnormally fast.

Eighty-five kilometers.

Ninety kilometers.

Ninety-five kilometers.

Ninety-seven kilometers.

GUMPHH!!!

The arrow abruptly died in midair, heavy trails of compressed wind brimming from its sharp edges. The cumulative air resistance had heavily hampered the arrow from moving even an inch further, instantly ending its course.

The IPMs beeped sharply, the monolith clearly displaying the now-stationary projectile.

· {RIGHT RANGING ALCOVE}

· {FARTHEST DISTANCE: 97 KM}

Cia’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. Her expression clearly echoed a single, horrifying thought: This cannot be possible.

Chris gritted his teeth, closing his eyes sharply. He turned around in a tight circle before facing the monolith once more, forcing himself to look at the data. Elisa elevated her head slightly before letting it drop back to its normal position, while Rhys simply shook his head in complete disbelief.

“Wow. She almost reached it. Almost,” Ivy mocked, her voice finally returning to its usual condescending tune.

“I expected more, but that’s it,” Braylen said, his expression completely baseless and stoic.

“Failure... that must be a nice vibe,” Liam remarked, laughing quietly.

The monoliths before them beeped loudly as the automated score allocation system kicked into effect across the screens:

· RANGING ALCOVE SCORE ALLOCATION

· LEFT RANGING ALCOVE: 2 POINTS

· RIGHT RANGING ALCOVE: 2 POINTS

Liam stared at the final tally with a disgusting strain of pure satisfaction. Slowly, his eyes drifted over to Chris.

“And Chris... with that, the scores are officially tied,” Liam said, a sadistic, twisted, and wry smile curving up his lips.

Absolutely nothing annoyed Chris more than that specific smile, and he wanted nothing more than to wipe that fucking expression right off Liam’s face.